Long journey to Mad Cow Theatre's new home

Opening-night patrons gather in the lobby of the new Mad Cow Theatre venue, on the second floor of 54 W. Church St., Orlando.

Opening-night patrons gather in the lobby of the new Mad Cow Theatre venue, on the second floor of 54 W. Church St., Orlando. (Matthew J. Palm/Orlando Sentinel)

Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel Arts Writer

It's another debut for Mad Cow Theatre when it opens "The Road to Mecca" on Friday, Oct. 26, in the Black Box Theatre. The play, which had a run on Broadway this year, is the first production to be staged in the second theater of Mad Cow's new Church Street complex.

Set in 1970s South Africa, "The Road to Mecca" tells the story of a woman who has spent years transforming her home into a work of art, an escape from the turmoil of her world. The reclusive artist, now elderly, is at a crossroads: A conservative pastor wants her to move to a nursing home. A young friend thinks she should remain in her own home.

The resulting small-town conflicts tackle bigger issues, such as love and destiny and artistic freedom. Aridhana Tiwari directs a cast that features Robin Olson, Ginger Lee McDermott and Joe Candelora.

The play's idea of finding a home for art dovetails nicely with Mad Cow's recent move. Even the title "The Road to Mecca" calls to mind a journey. And what a journey it has been for the Mad Cow.

In its early days, Mad Cow Theatre staged productions in a small studio in Maitland. Later, the young troupe used a lecture hall and the Fred Stone Theater at Rollins College, space at the old Civic Theater (now Orlando Repertory Theatre) and the Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Mad Cow first found space downtown in 2001, which it moved into the Rogers Building at Magnolia Avenue and Pine Street. Two years later, it moved a few blocks along Magnolia, where it staged shows until August.

"We became the only theater company in downtown," says executive director Mitzi Maxwell. "This became our neighborhood." The goal was to make sure downtown Orlando remained Mad Cow's neighborhood.

Meanwhile, in 2004, city officials gave an incentive package to the original developer of the 55 West condominium project on Church. Under the terms of that deal, developer 55 West JV was required to donate space for the arts. 55 West JV later defaulted on its construction loan, and in 2010, Orlando City Council amended the terms of the agreement — but through it all the city's arts proviso remained.

The city holds a 75-year lease on the arts space, for which it paid 55 West's current owner, TA Associates Realty, the nominal fee of $10. In 2006, city officials first met with the Mad Cow leadership about using the space, and slowly — very slowly, it often seemed — the legalities were ironed out.

"No one should think this was easy," Maxwell says. "If it was easier, more people would be doing it."

Constructing the new venue has cost about $2.2 million in cash and in-kind donations, Maxwell says. Together, the Community Redevelopment Agency and developer contributed more than $800,000. Orange County provided $250,000. Law firm Holland and Knight donated about $300,000 in services, and L2 Studios added $190,000 in design work.

Mad Cow raised the rest, but even with the city's rent break still faces substantial monthly bills such as utilities and common-area maintenance fees. Maxwell estimates those expenses as several thousand dollars each month — but still only about half what the company previously paid.

That increased financial stability lets Mad Cow officials focus more on the artistic end of the business — which presents more opportunities with the complex's larger stage and backstage areas.

Upcoming play "August: Osage County," for example, requires a two-story set, an impossibility until now. "Sunday in the Park With George," onstage in The Harriett Theatre, also wouldn't have worked in the old space.

With the years of work and waiting behind her, Maxwell is content.

"The sauce just had to simmer," she says. "We knew all good things were worth waiting for."